CLEVELAND, July 16 (UPI) -- An antique mural was discovered hidden behind a false wall in an Ohio high school just days before the century-old building was set for demolition.
Walter Leedy, an architecture buff and art professor at Cleveland State University, found the Depression-era painting last weekend as hundreds visited the school searching for mementos prior to Monday's scheduled destruction, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Friday.
"It was like finding a hidden treasure. You should have seen our faces when we found it," Leedy said.
The mural, painted by Joseph Ersek, is one of thousands created under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration, formed in 1935 to create jobs.
The school district plans to apply for grants to restore the mural and install it at the new high school when the building opens in two years, said Superintendent Myrna Corley.
